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Earthworks Incorporated was originally founded on Terra in 2357 to develop a prototype mining robot. The robot was insanely successful, and over the next centuries the company expanded into manufacturing all sorts of robots and related technologies, including BattleMechs. Over time it expanded into all the realms of the Inner Sphere. During the Succession Wars, the five Successor States took control of the local branches of Earthwerks, essentially converting one large company into five smaller ones.[1]

With their expansion into BattleMech construction, Earthwerks responded to requests by the Terran Hegemony'sHAF to counter weaknesses in their new BattleMech forces. This led to the creation of the Archer in 2458 with an initial production site on Terra. After the formation of the SLDF, expanded orders forced the company to sub-contract production to other manufacturers.[2]

In 2581, Earthwerks Inc. Free Worlds League branches purchased Toddlette Industries, acquiring the rights to produce the Flea FLE-4, the FWLM's very first BattleMech upgraded with "modern" technology, with factory lines established on five worlds and remained in production throughout the Star League era.[3] During the early Succession Wars, the inexpensive Flea was easy to mass-produce, but losses became too high for the Great Houses to tolerate and the line was switched to produce heavier designs. The design virtually vanished outside the FWLM until the Wolf's Dragoons ordered many more following the Fourth Succession War. As a result, two new Flea lines were opened on Asuncion and Bernardo to keep up with demand.[4] Later on, the company made an extra profit by selling the 'Mech on the open Periphery market for affordable prices that were much less than other Light 'Mechs and by 3067-68, sales among mercenary units set profit records, with newer "urban warfare" variants flying off the production lines which eventually led to Earthwerks opening an additional assembly line on Victoria.[5]

The Capellan branch of Earthwerks (known as Earthwerks Limited in the Capellan Confederation[6]) was founded in the Tikonov Grand Union in 2380.[7] It served as the major weapons supplier for the Union, and when the Union joined the Confederation, the company expanded its production.

Earthwerks was responsible for the design of the Liao-specific Warhammer, and produced the Thunderbolt and Vindicator as well. Their long service in support of the state made them the lead contractor in the development of the Cataphract.[7]

Though once a massive manufacturing center, Earthwerks factories on Tikonov had seen better days. Almost the entirety of the huge complex, including lines dedicated to the production of Thunderbolts, Thugs, Griffins, Stingers, and Bombardiers, were destroyed by Capellan troops during the Fourth Succession War to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. The Federated Commonwealth did little to rebuild Earthwerks’ facilities, content with the large number of effective Cataphracts which they supplied, and so it was left to the Corporation to rebuild the factory alone. Earthwerks believed that given time and enough capital, they could resurrect this once powerful production center, but the Confederation's tenuous grasp on the world and Davion blockades of the world have put most of these plans on hold. This didn't stopped them from resurrecting their ancient Koschei line for production of the venerable 'Mech for the export market. Earthwerks spent two decades planning the production of the Kuan Ti-class DropShip, which entered production in 3055[8] In 3067 Earthwerks also had a large division devoted to producing consumer products.[9]

With many of their production lines in the Free Worlds League, Earthwerks walked a fine line in the Jihad. Some of the branches, like Asuncion, joined the Word of Blake eagerly, but most secretly supplied resistance movements across the Free Worlds League. These secret supply efforts became more important after several protesters were killed outside the corporate headquarters on Keystone.[10] Earthwerks also cobbled together a new facility on Tiber to produce the Merkava Mk. IX, re-equipping the Regulan Hussars.[10]

Earthwerks managed to complete repairs to the air filtration systems at the Keystone plant by 3081, although it was likely to be several more years before production returned to pre-Jihad levels. Earthwerks attempted to make up for huge corporate losses suffered by increasing export sales after the Jihad, as well as keeping the "Royal" variants of the Stinger and BattleMaster introduced during the Jihad in regular production. Due to the restrictions on export put in place by the Marik Commonwealth government, the biggest non-domestic buyers for Earthwerks products in the early 3080s were actually the armed forces of the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns.[11]

Having purchased an abandoned Brigadier Corporation BattleMech factory on Procyon in 3050, Earthwerks refurbished the factory and converted it to the production of engineering vehicles and IndustrialMechs. Trading as Earthwerks-Procyon Engineering Vehicles, the production from the factory was enough to revitalise the city of Cleveberg on Procyon, and by 3130 the factory was exporting enough vehicles and IndustrialMechs to qualify it as a secondary planetary industry.[13]

Earthwerks was led by Duchess Li Ming Ling in 2750. At the time of her appointment in 2728, she was the youngest CEO in Earthwerks history. Under her leadership, the company expanded into the Terran Hegemony and reverse engineered the advanced technologies for use in Capellan products.[15]

Note: The facility on Grand Base, suffers a capital and personnel losses of 38%, and the operating capacity of the factory has a production volume of 70% in 3079.[17] The Grand Base facility was second only to the production lines on Tikonov.[38]

Keystone was controlled by the Word of Blake during the Jihad. Several protesters were killed by a Blakist Malak in 3073.[10] This plant was also known as Earthwerks-FWL, Incorporated after the Jihad.[42] During the Jihad the Keystone plant only retained 20% of its workforce, and in 3079 had rebuilt four lines[43] which could only operate at a third of its maximum production.[25]

Originally a BattleMech factory, the facility on Procyon was allowed to actively decline by the planetary population and by the end of the Third Succession War had been abandoned for a considerable period of time.[13] A key target of the short-lived Tikonov Free Republic's military offensive against the Free Worlds League in the Fourth Succession War,[59] the plant was purchased by Earthwerks Incorporated in 3050. Earthwerks refurbished the plant and reopened it, converting it to the production of engineering vehicles and IndustrialMechs in the process. During the Dark Age the plant operated under the name Earthwerks-Procyon Engineering Vehicles]] and was a major component of the planetary economy.[13]

The original Trooper TP-1R and Flea FLE-4 were developed on Ariel by Toddlette Industries, before the buyout of the company by Earthwerks Inc. The purchase of the entire company also mentions factory lines established on five worlds, but does not name the worlds specifically. It is speculated that Earthwerks might have acquired the original Toddlette production site, making Ariel a potential candidate as one of the not-named worlds. Later sources mention Asuncion, Bernardo, and Victoria as production sites for various versions of the Flea, which might also be candidates for three of the original production sites leaving only one unknown.